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Carbon

Carbon is a former American Halo team which was active on the MLG Pro Circuit from 2006 until 2012.

Biography

Halo 2

The roots of Carbon begin in early 2005, with Chris "ShockWav3" Smith and Scott "Gandhi" Lussier first teaming together at MLG Orlando 2005 as part of team iGameSpot. ShockWav3 and Gandhi placed 2nd together as part of IGS for three events in a row. Ben "Karma" Jackson was then added to the roster, and they finished 1st at MLG Seattle. Michael "Strongside" Cavanaugh finally rounded out the roster, leading to a 4th place finish in Chicago and a 2nd place finish at the New York National Championships as Team Phreaks.

During the offseason, Team Phreaks adopted the name of Carbon. Carbon was a team of high school students, considerably younger than teams such as Final Boss and Str8 Rippin. Their early playstyle was erratic, with a lack of focus on power weapon timing and well-executed setups, but their individual skill allowed them to overcome this. Some of their tactics were questionable, with Gandhi's impeccable trash talking ability quickly becoming a focal point of MLG broadcasts. Carbon debuted at MLG New York 2006, where they ran into the brick wall of Str8 Rippin in the Winners Semifinals and the Losers Finals. They lost both matches 3-0 and finished 3rd. In Dallas, the result was the same, but Carbon put up much more of a fight, taking Str8 to 11 games in the Losers Finals. This was possibly due in part to the addition of coach Joseph "xXx" Festinger to the lineup. xXx helped the team learn the intricacies of the game to go along with their high individual skill.

Karma was showing his individual skill in a different way. Coming off of finishing 1st in the 2005 National Championships, Karma had won the first three 1v1 events of 2006 as well. He would go on undefeated for the remainder of the season, winning the 2006 Championship as well. In Anaheim, things went awry for Carbon to start, with an early 3-2 loss to FBI Michigan knocking them into Losers Round 2. Carbon made a now-legendary Losers Bracket run, knocking off three highly ranked teams before meeting FBI Michigan in Round 6 and reversing the series to a 6-4 in Carbon's favor. Carbon then won a 3-2 nailbiter over XiT WoundZ before making a statement in the Losers Finals by sweeping Str8. Unfortunately, their run hit a wall in the Finals against Final Boss, who defeated them 3-0 and sent them home in 2nd. Carbon set a record at this event for games played in a Championship Bracket with 39. In Chicago, Carbon was again defeated early, losing a 3-2 match to Storm Ventures in Round 3. Needing another long Losers Bracket run, they took out Str8, XiT WoundZ and ShooK on3 Gaming in succession before running into Storm Ventures again in the Losers Finals. Carbon extended the series to 11 games, but could not win the decider and went home in 3rd.

After Chicago, Carbon made a team change, replacing StrongSide with Eric "GH057ayame" Hewitt. This change paid dividends, as Carbon came out on fire in Orlando and did the unthinkable, ousting the almighty Final Boss in the Winners Finals by a score of 3-1. FB predictably rose out of the Losers Bracket, but could not reverse the series score, ultimately losing 6-4 as Carbon took their first event win. At the New York Playoffs, Final Boss got revenge early, beating Carbon by a score of 3-1 in the Winners Finals themselves. Unfortunately for FB, the resilient Carbon rose to their feet, sweeping Str8 Rippin and coming back in the Grand Finals to win a dramatic 11-game series and take their second straight event. At the Las Vegas National Championships, Carbon swept Str8 in the second round before facing Final Boss again in the Winners Finals. Carbon came out on top this time around, but FB again emerged from the Losers Bracket after sweeping Str8 themselves. Carbon ultimately won a grueling 10 game series to be crowned the 2006 National Champions.

Obviously feeling comfortable with their roster after the three-peat, Carbon made no changes during the offseason. The landscape around them however, did change. The struggling Final Boss, not used to losing at all, let alone back to back events, replaced Saiyan with former Carbon member StrongSide. Gone were the days of Str8 Rippin being alone as the #3 team, as teams like FBI The Agency and 5K emerged to make their names known. At the 2007 season opener in Charlotte, Carbon felt the wrath of one of these new teams early, as they were swept in the 3rd round by The Agency. The three-time champions made an amazing Losers Bracket run, defeating three top 8 teams before meeting The Agency in the Losers Finals. They amazingly turned the 3-0 series around, winning a 6-5 thriller and advancing to the Finals against the new Final Boss. Carbon took a 2-1 lead in the Finals series, but FB turned the series around and won 3-2, sending the National Champions home in 2nd. At the Meadowlands, Carbon fell to FB in the Winners Finals and narrowly defeated Perfect Storm in the Losers Finals to earn their rematch. FB took it handily, winning 6-3 and sending Carbon home in 2nd once again. On top of their 4v4 struggles, Karma was also struggling individually this season, failing to place highly in the FFA events.

A stronger Carbon emerged in Dallas, obliterating the Agency before toppling the new Final Boss for the first time in the Winners Finals. In the Finals, Final Boss could manage only another map win as they were sent home by the triumphant Carbon. In Chicago, Carbon were ousted from Winners early by the new Str8 Rippin lineup, who surprised them in a 3-0 shellacking. For the first time, Carbon didn't make a big Losers Bracket run, being eliminated by The Agency in the Semifinals and going home in 4th, their lowest ever placing to that point. In Orlando, Carbon were ousted in Round 4 by an unlikely foe in Nice Like Rice. For the first time, they met up against Final Boss in the Losers Bracket. Final Boss won in a sweep, sending Carbon home in 4th once more. At the Las Vegas National Championships, Carbon needed 5 games to defeat 7th seeded FBI ICON in the 1st round. They turned it up in Round 2 however, taking out Orlando champions Str8 Rippin in 5 games. In the Winners Finals, they were decimated by a stronger looking Final Boss than ever before. Carbon took out Str8 in 10 games in the Losers Finals again, but nobody was touching Final Boss in Vegas, as they 3-0d Carbon and won Vegas without dropping a map.

Halo 3

During the offseason, Carbon did not make any roster changes, but xXx did leave his coaching post to join Str8 Rippin. Carbon replaced him with Gandhi's brother. Carbon started Halo 3 off strong at MLG Meadowlands, taking a close 3-2 series over Str8 Rippin in Round 2. Things worsened after this as Carbon were swept in back-to-back matches by new teams in the form of Classic and Triggers Down. Carbon finished their first Halo 3 event in a disappointing 6th place. In San Diego, Carbon were defeated early by another new team that would become a staple of the Halo 3 scene - Instinct. In Losers, Carbon managed to take 5-game series over both Fatal Images and Believe the Hype to make it to top 4, where they were defeated by Triggers Down in 4 games.

After San Diego, Carbon shook things up, dropping founding member Gandhi and replacing him with Carlos "Cpt Anarchy" Morales. A veteran with many top 3 placings between 2005 and 2006, Cpt Anarchy had not placed above 11th since the 2006 Nationals. with In Orlando, Carbon were ousted from Winners early in a 3-1 upset loss to Chilled Reality. They battled back through Losers, capping off their run with a sweep over Classic, but were stopped cold by Str8 Rippin in Round 5. After a 3-1 loss, they went home in 7th. In Toronto, Carbon were swept out of Winners Round 3 by Instinct and their new pickup Walshy. In Losers, they were again the victim of an upset as they were defeated 3-2 by Ambush in Round 5. Carbon took 7th place once again.

Weeks after Toronto, Karma filed for free agency from Carbon and joined Triggers Down. Carbon picked up Brett "Naded" Leonard in Karma's place. Naded had not yet found his footing in Halo 3, coming off back-to-back 10th place finishes with Classic and LeGendZ. At the Dallas Playoffs, Carbon lost in the first round of the 8-team bracket in a 5-gamer to Final Boss, the first time they faced their former bitter rivals in the 2008 season. In Losers Round 1, they were swept by Ambush and went home in 7th place once again. At the Las Vegas National Championships, perhaps the most telling sign of Carbon's reduced status on the Pro Circuit was their complete lack of representation in the All Star Classic. Looking to surprise everyone, Carbon pulled out a big upset in the first round, defeating Karma and Triggers Down 3-2. In the following round, the upsets continued as Carbon took it to Final Boss in a 3-1 win. In their first Winners Finals of Halo 3, Carbon nearly upset Str8 Rippin, but lost 3-2. The run ended in the Losers Finals, where they were defeated 3-1 by Instinct and sent home in a respectable 3rd place at the biggest event of the season.

Despite the marked improvement in Vegas, Carbon made a change in the offseason, replacing Naded with Dmitry "KGB Soviet" Gulyan. The team cited Naded's disdain for Halo 3 and "selfish play" as the reason for the change. The 2007 National FFA Champion was coming off of a 2nd place finish at Nationals with Instinct. Carbon were competitive against Str8 in Winners Round 2 in the Meadowlands, ultimately losing 3-2 before being eliminated in a top 8 position by Triggers Down. Carbon took 8th place at the event. By the time Columbus rolled around, Soviet was gone, replaced by Brandon "Defy" Jenkins. Defy had been struggling lately, with limited top 8 placings since the end of the 2006 season. In Columbus, Carbon were again defeated in 5 by Str8, suggesting that they were close to making the jump. They were again eliminated in a top 8 position, this time in a sweep from Believe the Hype.

Following Columbus, rumors began to swirl among the community that Instinct was looking to pick up GH057ayame to replace Walshy. These rumors eventually became reality as ShockWav3 confirmed Carbon's new roster in a June 24 interview, with GH057ayame and Cpt Anarchy replaced by two legends in Dave "Walshy" Walsh and a returning founding member in "StrongSide". Walshy was coming off of a strong run with Instinct. Though they had not managed to win a tournament, they had placed 2nd three times with the legend on board. StrongSide, on the other hand, had not been so successful since leaving Final Boss, having placed 7th twice in a row with the young Status Quo lineup. Unfortunately, there was a lot of time before Dallas, and StrongSide was reacquired by Final Boss before making it to an event with Carbon. This left Carbon to bring back "Naded" in his place. Prior to returning to Carbon, Naded had been contemplating retirement following a failed experiment with amateur players that had resulted in a top 40 placing.

The new Carbon were a force to be reckoned with, as they took out Final Boss in Winners Round 2 before finally overcoming Str8 Rippin with a 3-0 sweep in Round 3. In the Winners Finals, they took a narrow loss to Triggers Down, forcing them to face Instinct for a shot at the Finals. They swept Instinct convincingly. In their first Grand Finals of Halo 3, Carbon were unsuccessful, losing in 10 games to the powerful Triggers Down squad. Carbon gained huge fan support with this lineup, as fans welcomed a new contender in what had mostly been a two-team race. In Anaheim, Carbon's inability to beat Str8 returned as they were defeated by the 2008 National Champions in 4 games. They put on a vintage Carbon Losers Bracket run, mowing through 4 teams (including a close victory over unlikely top 4 contenders Dynasty) before finally losing to Str8 again in the Losers Finals and going home in 3rd. Carbon came out flat at the Orlando National Championships, taking a 3-0 loss to GH057ayame and Classic in their first match. After strong wins over Final Boss (3-1), Str8 (3-0) and Instinct (3-1), Carbon met Classic again in the Losers Finals and lost 6-2, finishing the season in 3rd place.

Immediately following Orlando, ShockWav3 let his teammates know that he was retiring. This left a huge hole in the Carbon lineup. Walshy and Defy ended up parting ways with Naded to bring in the duo of returning founder "StrongSide" and Nick "BesT MaN" Johnson. The new Carbon struggled early at the kickoff event in Orlando, dropping a game to the 14th seeded Warriors before losing a 3-2 series to Classic. In their first Losers Bracket match, Carbon were swept by Str8 Rippin and sent home in 11th place.

Less than 2 months after being dropped, "Naded" returned to Carbon for a second time, replacing StrongSide. After a close call against Darkest Hour in Winners Round 2, Carbon lost 3-1 to Final Boss in Round 4. In their first Losers Bracket match, they were defeated 3-1 by Status Quo and sent home in a nonetheless improved 6th place. Going into Raleigh, BesT MaN left Carbon to join Triggers Down. Carbon picked up the player Best Man was replacing on Triggers Down - former team captain Justin "SK" Mann. The veteran experience did not help, as Carbon were 3-0d by 11th seeded Purgatory in Winners Round 2. In Losers Round 5, Carbon were eliminated by 12th seeded Ambush and sent home with an all-time low placing of 13th.

After Raleigh, Defy and Naded left Carbon to join Str8 Rippin. Marcos "Soldi3r187" Sanchez and Kyle "Chig" Lawson were brought in to fill their spots. Needing a strong placement in D.C. to qualify for Nationals, things did not look good to start as Carbon were taken out in Winners Round 2 by Heaven and Earth. In Losers Round 5, Carbon were eliminated by Warriors. Fortunately for Carbon, none of the other teams in contention for the 8th spot at Nationals were able to finish high enough to overcome Carbon in points, and they qualified. In Dallas, Carbon looked to pull off a miracle in Round 1 by defeating the back-to-back champions Final Boss. They managed to take a game, but ultimately lost the series 3-1. In Losers Round 1, they were swept by Dynasty and sent home in 8th place.

Halo: Reach

During the offseason, Carbon went their separate ways. SK returned to Triggers Down, while Soldi3r187 and Chig returned to Classic. Walshy built a new Carbon roster with amateur players Mike "Russo" Russo, Garrett "LifeStyle" Miller and Octavio "ScaRVayn3" Soto. Unfortunately, Walshy was not able to attend the season opener in Dallas, leaving Carbon to pick up last minute replacement Curtis "Loki" Howell. The team performed poorly in Dallas, finishing the lowest a top 16 seeded roster could finish - 24th.

A new Carbon was formed following the dissolution of the Dallas lineup, with "GH057ayame" taking over the name and bringing in Leland "Mimic" Jones, Christopher "BatMayne" Stephens and Brian "Vyolent" Matos to round out the roster. Carbon finished 17th in Columbus despite not making it to Pool Play. After the poor placing, GH057ayame and Mimic opted for experience over potential, replacing Vyolent and BatMayne with Robert "Robbie B" Bordieri and a returning "Soldi3r187". Despite making it to Pool Play in Anaheim, Carbon's fortunes worsened as they finished last in their pool and took 20th place overall.

Ghost and Mimic again retooled the roster after Anaheim, replacing Soldier and Robbie with Craig "ThuggishKilla" Chamberlain and a returning "Cpt Anarchy". Carbon had its strongest showing of 2011 yet in Raleigh, finishing 3rd in their pool and nearly taking top 12 after a close loss to NBG Pure sent them home in 14th. Going into Orlando, Carbon replaced Mimic with Lee "TwYLighT" Santos. In Orlando, Carbon finished last in their pool. Despite this, they made a brief run, taking out Cyber Bullies and Pure before a dominant Fnatic Classic sent them home in 14th once again. At the Providence National Championships, the 14th seeded Carbon were taken out early by 19th seeded apeX LINK. Looking to make a run, Carbon were stopped dead in their tracks by 27th seeded Rhythm and sent home in a disappointing 23rd place.

Going into the no-bloom event in Columbus, GH057ayame retired as a competitor and moved to coaching. He joined the roster of Clete "Assault" LoRusso, Chris "Blaze" Chapon, Ryan "RyaNoob" Geddes and Eric "Snip3down" Wrona, which took the name Carbon once he joined. The strongest Carbon roster in years was taken out in the Winners Quarterfinals by Dynasty. Needing to make a run, Carbon swept Legendary but were unable to get past the juggernaut Ambush squad, finishing top 8. Carbon then attended AGL 1 Chicago, where they finished 2nd to Status Quo. The Carbon name was retired after Chicago.